[PER][Harden]WTF statistical moments of the 2011-12 season

Here are a few very unusual statistical findings I noticed of this season that I'm stupidly going to blanket it under it being a "shortened season". Please feel free to add things you find. I would also like to know if there were things like this in the '99 season from the older members. I was only 11.

Linsanity

-See NBA Dish, GARM, Hangout, every sports forum anywhere, any media anywhere.



PER

Say what you want about PER, but to me, it's still the most relevant summary statistic. It just takes the bias of any casual fans' box score observance, and should only be taken as that - a box score summary, and all the shortcomings that come with only looking at box scores.

That being said, there are some crazy ass things happening with PER this year:

-I posted about this before. Lebron is on pace to set the greatest PER ever at 32.5
-For the first time ever, the top two PER is from the same team (Wade). Unless Durant makes a run
-For the first time since in a long time, if not ever, more than 5 teams have 3+ 20 PER players: Miami (James, Wade, Bosh), OKC (Durant, Westbrook, Harden), Lakers (Bryant, Gasol, Bynum), Spurs (Parker, Ginobili, Duncan), NY (Anthony, Chandler, Lin). The Knicks should have four if Amare ever comes around. I don't think the league has ever seen this kind of lack of parity in individual talent since the Celtics had everyone in the 60's.

Hardensanity

What this guy is doing for the Thunder is so weird that he deserves his own section.

-If not for the Linsanity, Harden would be a shoo-in for the MIP. He jumped 5 PER points this year from 16.4 to 21.3, mostly due to his insane shooting at .647 TS%
-He has increased his TS% by a whopping .05 every year. This is crazy impressive considering he started at a formidable .55
-Here comes the real Hardensanity of his season - his on/off statistics. The Thunder are a whopping 20.9 points better per 100 possessions on the offensive end. That is not a typo, this actually happens. Equally as ridiculous is his defensive numbers. The Thunder are 12.4 points WORSE per 100 possessions when he's on the court. I have never seen a player that creates that big of a swing on a team by his presence, both good and bad. This basically means the Thunder turn from the JVG Rockets to the mid-last decade Suns when he comes in. Unreal. Of course, the Thunder are better off having him on the court because he's still a net +8.5, but seriously, WTF.

 

Hmm, perhaps but that makes me think more of "density" instead of "insanity". Although, his offensive production is in fact, very "dense", he packs a lot of points in very few shots.

 

Yes, that's definitely true but I have never seen anything extreme like the swings that these two are creating. Afterall, they're only one player. What's especially perplexing is the extreme swing on the defensive end. It would make slightly more sense if they were big men who account for defense more than a swing man. They literally go from the Bulls-level defense to Bobcats-level defense when the Sefolosha-Harden swap happens.

 

Another thing I found from Hollinger's chat: The PER difference between Lebron and #2 D Wade is the same difference as #Wade and #31 Spencer Hawes.